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Sergeant-Major Darren Leigh MC, 1st Battalion The Queens Lancashire Regiment by David Rowlands. On 9th August 2003 there was widespread and violent disorder across Basrah due to fuel and electricity shortages. In the suburb of At Tannumah a large crowd gathered outside the Iraqi police station. While his company commander sought support from the Iraqi police, Company Sergeant-Major Leigh, with only some 30 soldiers and three vehicles, faced a crowd 300 strong. The rioters were throwing a hail of bricks, then surged forward in an attempt to overwhelm the police station. Sergeant-Major Leighs small force held them back, but came under small arms fire from gunmen behind the crowd. Despite the disparity in numbers, and sensing that his small party of Queens Lancashires were isolated on the far bank of the Shatt Al Arab, with reinforcement unlikely, Sergeant-Major Leigh seized the initiative by rapidly advancing into the crowd to disperse them. One of three grenades thrown by the Iraqis wounded him in the legs. Despite his injuries he led his 30 men in the subsequent baton charge against the mob, which so unnerved the rioters that they were forced to withdraw and eventually disperse as darkness fell. For his quick thinking, courage under fire, and determination despite his wounds, Sergeant-Major Leigh was awarded the Military Cross. |
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